perfect
by chantpleure
Summary: one-shot. the feeling was always there, that painstaking loneliness that never really went away. and so she smiled and got back up on that runway, waiting for something or someone to come and save her. sakura haruno- supermodel extraordinaire. AU


"That'll be $2.18 as your change, ma'am." The cashier handed her the change, careful not to make any eye contact whatsoever with his current customer. "And here's your drink." The customer grinned, accepting her signature mango sorbetto with a pale hand, long fingers decorated with black nail polish and a large, emerald, rectangular ring. The cashier glanced up hesitantly and winced, immediately wishing he hadn't. She was not ugly, or deformed, or even remotely sickly looking, she was drop-dead gorgeous.

Beautiful.

Perfect.

Stunning.

Dazzling.

Amazing.

Supermodel.

Haruno Sakura.

There was so much she could've been, a doctor, a writer, musician, but the minute she got on that runway, she had walked up, and down her destiny.

She walked away, grace and perfect poise visible even when she wasn't on the runway. Sipping her cool (although it was winter), tangy drink, she walked out of the Starbucks; aware that every person she walked by was staring.

Awe.

Envy.

Desire.

Lovestruck.

Man

Or

Woman.

Didn't they get how imperfect her life had been? Is? People knowing your name, gossiping? Baby bumps not even there, but still talked about. So complicated.

She still smiled the whole way and accepted compliments with a perfect pink, plump lipped, perfect white smile and flutter of thick long lashes. Everyone knew her by name. Her face was everywhere, imprinted in everyone's minds, and would stay there, forever.

Billboards.

Paintings.

Magazines.

TV.

Forever

And

Always.

When she was young she couldn't even stand her looks. She was too frail, too skinny, too big of a forehead, weird hair, awkward posture, but now she sees her face everywhere, and she could not care less.

She reached her destination, a large building with windows and large letters spelling out another name that everyone knew. 'HOKAGE' King of all that is fashion and style, always at the top of the charts anywhere in the world. Biggest Record Label. Biggest Movie-making Company. Biggest Modeling Agency. Biggest Fashion Industry. Biggest franchise. Ever.

Home of Haruno Sakura.

Family of Haruno Sakura.

Work of Haruno Sakura.

Lovely.

She waltzed inside; greeted by the secretary and everyone she passed. So boring, she remembered a time where she would just stop and take in the largeness, and the crowds of people fighting to get a glimpse.

Acknowledged after the even slightest flip of curled, long pink hair. Bottlecap green eyes sparkled incessantly, making snowy days, much like this one, seem gray and dull.

Her destination was on the 32nd floor, and still, she walked almost half way and took an elevator the rest.

Her work on this particular day was photo shoot for Aburame, a new upcoming mega-hit designer. Nothing special. Not anymore.

While waiting in the elevator she paused, her fast moving life seeming to pause along with her. She smiled sadly remembering her first time in this building, four years ago.

"_Haruno Sakura, you're up next." The sound blaring loudly from the speakers. The scrawny girl immediately stood up blushing, knowing that everyone's eyes were on her. Staring, whispering to their friends. "Look at_ her,_" the disgusted whisper seemed to carry across the room, startling young Sakura, who had not yet made it through the double mahogany doors._

_The comment somehow sprung something in Sakura and she turned around facing the rest of her competitors, a new glow about her. _

_And then magically_, _she didn't seem so scrawny anymore, just slim, and her posture showed grace, her hollowed cheeks looked fuller and pinker, and her forehead? Not so large anymore. But her smile, more vibrant than ever, stunning all of her enemies in the room _

_Her gaze seemed more confident, and once she stepped through the double doors, she never looked back. Ten minutes later, she walked out the doors, her face feverish with excitement, and a special kind of radiance surrounding her. And in that moment, for the first time in a long time, all eyes were on her. Moments later HE walked out with his best friend, both looking exceptionally beautiful and handsome. _

"_Ladies," he announced, and the whispers had begun, "please," this time he sounded a bit more commanding, and all the girls shut up. "Thank you, anyways I would like to introduce you to the newest spokesperson for Hokage industries, and acting liaison to Uchiha co., Haruno Sakura. I am Uchiha Sasuke, president of Uchiha co. and this guy over here," he indicated to the man next to him, "is Naruto Uzumaki, heir to Hokage." _

"_Now, our lucky pick will be given a three year modeling contract with a new branch off of both Uchiha co. and Hokage called Konoha, we will be designing clothing, and cosmetics," This time it was Naruto who said it. "That is all; your exit is right through the large door in the back of the room. Goodbye and good luck with your futures." The hopefuls walked out wordlessly, surprised and amazed._

_DING!_

Sakura shot out of her reverie, suddenly aware that she had reached level 32, and exited promptly. She turned a corner and entered a room labeled

'Office Building Generator-

Please Do Not Enter Without Pass'

That was only a façade, made to fool employees and visitors into not hounding the models and designers. Inside was like a whole new room.

It was brighter, clearer and less crowded than the cubicles several floors under her feet. She immediately walked to a tall man and discarded her white faux fur coat, leaving her in only a thin, billowy green spaghetti strap mini dress, an unconventional outfit for New York's winter months.

The tall man whose name was Neji, was the set director, was not gay like the many pictured in the movies, he was as straight as a really long, straight ... thing. He was married to the photographer TenTen. She was beautiful enough, in Sakura's opinion, to have been a model herself, but decided to chase her dreams and she did, and made it to the top of the social food chain. Them together was a whole other story- with Neji's Pantene hair and gorgeous eyes, and TenTen's tanned and toned body and beautiful looks, they would've easily made couple of the year.

Ino was the set's costume director; she would choose some of the designer's designs, pair it with some low key brands of shoes or whatever, and voila! a new cover outfit to some high end fashion magazine was born. She dragged Sakura to her dressing room, and shoved her inside along with an outfit.

It was a pair of black high heel peep-toe shoes, bright royal purple knee high socks, black pencil skirt, a collared white cotton shirt, and a saggy black beret, along with the featured items, large chunky bracelets, small hoops, and the most important- a gorgeous silver link necklace with a diamond pendant in the form of Konoha's symbol.

She finished dressing, and exited her room, striding towards Ino. Next to Ino was Hinata, another photographer. She was also exceptionally pretty, maybe not model material, but the kind of pretty people take time to watch as she would cross the street, or try hard to make smile, just to feel good. Hinata was married to Naruto Uzumaki, one of the judges that had accepted Sakura. Hinata was also Neji's cousin, but they treated one another like brother and sister.

The way they were all family, and the way they kind of all just fell into line without even noticing their flaws, was kind of beautiful. And the way they were all just tied together was like fate except so much more attractive. And in all of this, Sakura could never help but feel kind of jealous.

Soon the photo shoot had come, and Sakura got into the place she belonged, the center. It was kind of sick, the way she craved the attention now. People fussing over hair, and worrying about if she would do it perfectly, and she never let go of the look of awe on everyone's face when she did do it perfectly.

And here the cycle came again- fuss, fuss, fix, smile, click, beautiful. She loved every second that the spotlight was on her, it gave her the feeling of which she lacked when she was younger. However, like every performance she ever gave, every time she had done this, the crew left, the costumes and outfits boxed up and stored away, the lights dimmed and she was alone all over again.

The way from work to home always seemed shorter to Sakura. She usually spent the short time, contemplating what she did that day, and when she finished that she always thought about how abandoned she could feel. Before she knew it, she was home.

She lived in one of those high end apartments that you only see in magazines, but she adored the fact that it was near several other homes, diminishing that lonely feel. She stepped in, lemons and citrus wafted in the air. Breathing deeply Sakura walked into her living room and smiled. Lonely? What does that feeling mean again? She could no longer remember. She almost ran across to the sofa where he sat. He was the one person that could ever make her blush, the one person who she could never stand to be without and the one person who had the ability to make her feel thirteen again. He stood up, noticing her presence, and smirked, but not a regular one he gave his colleagues. No. This was an almost-smile smirk. She jumpd up into his arms, and began kissing him, half-crazily. Her expensive coat lay on the hard wood floor, forgotten. He stopped her for a second, and looked her in the eye with those beautiful onyx eyes and told her the one thing that could send her into oblivion. "I love you."

And not once while he just held her in his arms, did she notice him slip a ring on her left hand. "I love you too, Sasuke."


End file.
